Steve Spurrier was known more for his coaching than his quarterbacking (Sports Illustrated)

Steve Spurrier was known more for his coaching than his quarterbacking (Sports Illustrated)

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Hall of Famer Charles Haley won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys after the 49ers traded him to Dallas (Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle)

Hall of Famer Charles Haley won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys after the 49ers traded him to Dallas (Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle)

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Corey Lemonier had a pair of the best guns in franchise history, but very few sacks ( (Christian Petersen Getty Images)

Corey Lemonier had a pair of the best guns in franchise history, but very few sacks ( (Christian Petersen Getty Images)

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The 49ers' best and worst trades of all time, including a Hollywood actor, Joe Montana and a guy named Simpson

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The 49ers unloaded tight end Vance McDonald to the Steelers along with a fifth-round choice to get the Steelers’ fourth-round pick in next year’s NFL draft. Whether this is a worthy trade all depends on who the 49ers select next season.

For salary cap purposes, the team will carry some dead money into the next year. However, since the Steelers will pick up McDonald’s $2.1 million in salary, it means the 49ers now have over $71 million in cap space for next season — by far the most in the league. The team might have to spend money on free agents just to get to the minimum salary level. That’s good news for a team trying to remake their roster to accommodate new schemes on offense and defense. It also means more trades could happen before the 49ers cutdown to their final 53 players over the weekend.

If McDonald flames out in Pittsburgh and the 49ers draft the next Jerry Rice in the fourth round next year, then it’s a boon. If McDonald becomes a Hall of Famer and the team takes A.J. Jenkins, then it’s a disaster.

With that in mind, we look back on the best and worst trades in team history.

BEST:

-When Bill Walsh traded a second-round and fourth-round choices to Tampa Bay for future Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, Walsh should have just dropped the mic and walked away.

-The 49ers traded their first- second- and third-round choices to New England in 1985 for wide receiver Jerry Rice from Mississippi Valley State.

-In 1950, the fifth year of the team’s existence, the 49ers traded a fourth-round pick for end Gordy Soltau. The three-time All-Pro led the league in scoring in 1951 and 1954 as a sticky-handed receiver and a powerful place kicker. Saltau died in 2014 at age 89, two years after induction into the team’s Hall of Fame.

-The 49ers made a flurry of deals in 1986 and all of them turned into gold. The trades resulted in getting running back and kick returner Joe Cribbs, backup quarterback Jeff Kemp and draft choices that resulted in cornerback Tim McKyer, defensive end Larry Roberts, tackle Steve Wallace, Hall of Famer Charles Haley and fullback Tom Rathman.

-The Alex Smith second-round picks in 2013, through a series of five trades, netted five players: linebacker Corey Lemonier, linebacker Chris Borland, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, linebacker Tank Carradine and running back Carlos Hyde. Hyde and Carradine are expected to play significant roles this year.

-Also in 2010, the 49ers traded back in the third round and gained a sixth round pick. With their later selection in the third, they chose linebacker NaVorro Bowman and their sixth-rounder turned into running back Anthony Dixon, who had a good career as a special teams player and a backup.

-Their biggest block buster in 2013 was dealing Alex Smith to the Chiefs for two second-round picks. Possibly the more innocuous and better trade that year? The team dealt a sixth-rounder (164) to Baltimore for wide receiver Anquan Boldin. He led the team in receiving for three years and became a center piece for the 2013 team that went to the NFC title game. Boldin caught 86 passes for 1,179 yards and seven touchdowns that season.

WORST:

– In 1961, the 49ers traded MVP quarterback Y.A. Tittle to the Giants for guard Lou Cordileone. The 49ers thought the 34-year-old Tittle was done. In the next four seasons, he led the Giants to the NFL championship game twice and was named All-Pro twice. Tittle was eventually inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Cordileone spent one season with the 49ers before leaving for the Rams.

-In 1967, the 49ers dealt guard Jim Wilson, tackle Jim Norton and flanker Bernie Casey to Atlanta in order to draft quarterback Steve Spurrier in the first round. The “Ball Coach,” as he was later known, never materialized as a great quarterback. Casey played two more years in Los Angeles and then became a significant television actor.

-In 1976, the team traded their first pick and a productive running back Vic Washington in a three-way trade that netted quarterback Jim Plunkett. Plunkett never developed as a 49er, but became a Super Bowl-winning player with the Raiders.

-In 1992, the balance of power shifted from the 49ers to Dallas when the 49ers traded Haley to the Cowboys for a second- and third-round choice.

-In possibly the most famous trade in team history, the team dealt quarterback Joe Montana in 1993 for safety David Whitmore and a first-round pick. The team traded the pick to New Orleans the next year to move in the first round to select defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield.

-In 1979, the 49ers traded a first-round pick, two second-round picks, and a third- and a fourth- for a washed up O.J. Simpson.

-In 2007, the 49ers dealt their second- and fourth-picks for the Colts top pick in 2008, then they selected North Carolina defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer, who did bomb out.

-In 2013, the team traded up in the third round at the cost of a sixth-round to select pass rusher Corey Lemonier. Nice guy, bad player.